Washroom toilet and sink overflows in any type of public building or facility are a major concern in that such a condition may result in closure of the washroom and significant clean-up expense, not to mention the inconvenience to patrons and building tenants. It is a burdensome, time consuming, and often frustrating task for building managers and janitorial/maintenance personnel to police and monitor washroom facilities according to a periodic schedule in hopes of detecting or minimizing damage and down-time from an overflow condition. In a relatively large building facility having a number of public washrooms, significant manpower is needed to monitor all of the facilities. The janitorial and maintenance staff may spend a substantial part of their work day simply patrolling the washroom facilities and, even with a relatively high frequency of visits (i.e., hourly), significant damage can result from intervening and undetected overflow conditions.
It is often the situation where standing water in a washroom facility may accumulate from sources other than an overflowing toilet or sink. For example, a leak or break in a fixture supply line, or a broken or vandalized fixture, may result in such a condition. Standing water on the floor of any public facility, particularly a washroom, creates obvious health and safety concerns. In this regard, although significant effort may be made to prevent of detect impending overflowing conditions from a toilet or sink, water may inevitably accumulate in the washroom, particularly in remote or hidden locations such as around the base of a toilet or under a sink. If left undetected, damage and downtime to the washroom can result, as well as a potentially dangerous or unhealthy environment for workers and patrons.
Damage and an otherwise undesirable environment may also result from generally naturally occurring moisture or condensation conditions within the facility, particularly in relatively humid conditions with inadequate ventilation. Moisture and condensation accumulation may go generally undetected over long periods of time, but can result in significant mold, mildew, and odour problems, as well creating safety and health concerns.
The remote collection and use of real-time information has been found to be desirable in order to allow for efficient operation of other systems in commercial and residential properties. For instance, real-time measuring, monitoring, and controlling of security systems, fire systems, and heating ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC) have been developed in order to provide for safe, productive environments and to maintain occupant satisfaction levels in commercial and residential properties. However, such advances have generally not been applied to washroom facilities in an acceptable and realistic manner, particularly for remotely detecting and monitoring for overflow conditions, standing water, moisture, and condensation conditions in public facilities, especially washrooms.